How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the browser

You just changed your computer and, while browsing the web, you noticed that the browser you use to browse the Internet does not open PDFs using Adobe Reader, as the browser installed on your old PC did. Well, that’s pretty normal, as all popular browsers include a PDF viewer “standard”. Furthermore, it must be said that the use of external plugins, such as Adobe Reader, is being reduced more and more, to avoid security problems and not overload the browser with unnecessary components.

That said, if you still intend to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for your browser, read on: if you want, I can give you all the information you need. Furthermore, I assure you that to succeed in this operation it is not necessary to have in-depth knowledge in the IT field. All you need is a little patience and attention, as well as a few minutes of free time.

So make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next paragraphs and, more importantly, try to implement the instructions I will give you: you will see that, by following them, you will be able to complete the operation. in question without the slightest problem. I wish you happy reading and I wish you good luck for everything!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Chrome browser
• How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Mozilla Firefox browser
• How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Explorer browser
• How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Safari browser
• How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Android browser

Preliminary information

Before explaining in detail what needs to be done to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the browser, it is good that I provide you with some preliminary information about what to do.

First of all, it is good that you know one thing: at the time of writing, unfortunately, not all browsers support the Adobe Reader plugin. Indeed, to be honest, only Mozilla Firefox and Safari offer this support: which means that if you use a browser other than these (eg Chrome ), you will not be able to install and enable it.

Also, I want to tell you that, at the time of writing, it is not possible to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin on mobile devices, such as Android smartphones and tablets. All clear? Well, then let’s proceed.

How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Chrome browser

As I told you a few lines above, at the present time, Google Chrome does not support the Adobe Reader plugin and compatibility will hardly be restored in the future.

In fact, in April 2015, Google announced the deactivation of support for NPAPI plug-ins in Chrome by default and then, in September of the same year, NPAPI support in the browser was removed altogether.

For more information, you can consult the Adobe website.

How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Mozilla Firefox browser

If you want to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin on the Mozilla Firefox browser, all you have to do is start the latter, go to the Acrobat Reader download page (the famous PDF reader that also contains the browser add-on) and follow the wizard that is shown to you on the screen.

Therefore, connected to this page of the Adobe website, remove (if necessary) the check from any items listed in the center of the page (eg  Yes, install Google toolbar; Yes, install the free utility … , etc.) and click on the yellow Install Now  (on Windows) or  Download  (on macOS) button, in the center of the page, to download Acrobat Reader.

When the download is complete, if you are using a Windows PC, start the .exe file obtained and complete the installation of Acrobat Reader, by clicking on the Yes button. Wait, then, for the progress bar attached to the software installation window to reach 100% and then press the Finish button.

On macOS, on the other hand, after clicking on the Download button, click on the OK button in the opened window and open the .dmg package obtained.

Then, open the .pkg file contained within it and, in the window that opens, click on the Continue (twice in a row) and Install buttons. Then enter the Mac administration password and complete the setup by clicking on the Install software,  Close and Move buttons.

Now, go to the Mozilla Firefox window, click on the button (≡) located at the top right and select the Options / Preferences item attached to the menu displayed. Scroll down the displayed page, locate the Applications section and click on  PDF (Portable Document Format)  in the Content-Type column.

Finally, click on the menu in the Action column, next to  PDF (Portable Document Format) , and select the Use Adobe Acrobat Reader option.

In case the Use Adobe Acrobat Reader item is not available, select the  Use other…> Adobe Reader items and that’s it. Did you see how simple it was?

How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Explorer browser

Are you going to install the Adobe Reader plugin on Internet Explorer? As I have already explained to you previously, IE does not support the plugin in question, so unfortunately you cannot continue.

How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Safari browser

Do you want to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Safari browser? No problem: first of all, go to the Adobe website, click on the yellow Download button in the center of the screen (below) and wait for the download of the Acrobat Reader installation file (the program that includes the browser plugin). In the window that appears, click on the OK button.

When the download is complete, open the .dmg package obtained, start the .pkg executable contained within it and follow the wizard that is proposed to you on the screen: then click on the Continue (twice in a row) and Install buttons, enter your Mac admin password and finally click the Install Software,  Close and Finish buttons.

At this point, Acrobat Reader should automatically be set as Safari’s default reader. If that’s not the case, you can do it manually yourself. Therefore, open Safari (if it was already open, I suggest you close it and reopen it), go to the Safari menu  (top left, in the macOS menu bar) and select the item  Preferences … from the latter.

In the window that opened, click on the Security tab and select the Plugin settings … item located at the wording  Internet plugins. In the new screen that will be shown to you at this point, select Adobe Reader from the list of available plugins and, from the drop-down menu When I visit other websites, select the item  Always allow. To apply the changes made, finally click on the Finish button.

How to install and enable the Adobe Reader plugin for the Android browser

Would you like to install the Adobe Reader plugin on the browser you usually use on your Android device? I’m sorry but, as I told you a few lines above, the plugin in question is not available for the Google mobile OS, and the same goes for iOS (therefore for iPhone and iPad).